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Jerald Dunn
Lord Jerald Dunn was a nobleman of Alderwood. He served as the spymaster of the Mayor before the two had a falling out; later, he commanded an elite team of assassins and warriors known as the Hideaways. Jerald was feared among the citizens of Alderwood during power struggles; he made use of brutal methods for extracting or holding power among his noble house and was known to purge entire families for their insolence. Jerald became infamous during his years of leadership for several bloody executions and purges upon vassal houses of Alderwood, and because of this many saw him as dishonorable. In truth, his bloody crusade was established by the murder of his wife. He became a belligerent during the Skycutter Conflict which resulted in the collapse of his household, but his ruthlessness during the war echoed for nearly a decade after the conflict ended. History Jerald was raised as a steadfast warrior. His older brother Nico kept a friendly but distant relationship with him, as did Jerald's younger sister Clairet. Unlike his siblings and peers, Jerald dabbed into the art of stealth and espionage. His father, Lord Merlyn Dunn, secretly kept tabs on Jerald's underworld activities and sought to utilize his abilities. Keeping second life highly secretive, Jerald continued to serve House Dunn as a representative in tournaments, including jousting, melee combat and archery. Many of his peers inside and outside of combat shunned him for being dominantly left handed, a superstition that was brought on by the Zakarum faith as being a sign of evil. Jerald's father and the combat veterans who trained him in his youth attempted to yield the use of his left hand, but none ever prevailed. This matter brought on by the Zakarum caused Jerald to carry contempt towards the religion and its followers. Family Matters In 1245, Jerald married his lover Berenice, an Ivgorodi immigrant. While Jerald's mother supported their marriage, Merlyn did not and nearly disowned him upon his announcement of betrothal. Merlyn had a change of heart after Jerald's first daughter Ada was born. Jerald and Berenice would later have a second child, a daughter they named Reya. Merlyn thought highly of his grandchildren and later came to respect Berenice as a worthy member of House Dunn. In 1263, during the initial stages of the War of the Mad King, House Dunn was among the many noble houses to be summoned to support King Leoric's Royal Army. Jerald was chosen to represent House Dunn during the war and was commissioned to deploy with a garrison, but on the eve of his departure his older brother Nico took his place when Jerald confessed privately to his father that he would abandoned his country alongside his wife and daughters instead of joining the war. Lord Merlyn openly shunned Jerald and nearly disowned him. Nico was presumed dead sometime after the War of the Mad King had ended and the monarch had collapsed, leaving Jerald as the heir to House Dunn. Circa 1264, Jerald arranged for his ailing father to be assassinated, who had been planning to exile Jerald and his family and arrange for his sister Clairet to inherit the House's entitlements. Merlyn's assassination was carried out by a servant girl, whom Jerald had blackmailed, through poisoning his food. Jerald murdered the servant girl shortly after and had her corpse burned thus to keep his secret of patricide from spreading. Speculating her father's sudden demise, Clairet became suspicious of patricide by Jerald after several weeks. Instead of confronting him, Clairet decided to distance herself from House Dunn by betrothing a nobleman of Entsteig. Jerald made clear annotations that his father Merlyn had passed away due to his ailing health. On the day of her departure, Jerald gave a final farewell to Clairet and warned her not breathe further life into her suspicions by discussing it with anyone. Moments before her convoy departed, Clairet passed by Lorent of House Powell and told him out of context that Merlyn had been poisoned, much to his dismay and curiosity. Days later during Jerald's inauguration celebration of lordship, Lorent brought up the matter in private, much to Jerald's dismay. On the night of Damhar 12th, 1265, Lady Berenice was murdered in the street during a mugging. She had been returning home from a formal meeting with House Corbray, a ploy initiated by Jerald as means to get her out of the family house while servants prepared for a twenty-year marriage anniversary for the following day. While the assailant escaped after stabbing her, Berenice was left in the street to bleed out through her wounds as surrounding denizens ignored her. Less than a block, Berenice's cries for help could be heard by House Powell, as many family members later confessed to have heard screaming but not investigated. Berenice's death proved a huge devastation to Alderwood at its citizens. A funeral was held for Lady Berenice, and during the wake Jerald lashed out at several individuals, particularly House Powell who had done nothing to investigate her cry for help and House Corbray who had not offered a convoy to escort her home. Jerald's initial suspicions were upon his own patrons, and thus he began a purge by killing and torturing those who served him. This caused a drastic decrease in food production due to the demise of several peasants and servants who worked the fields, and ultimately House Dunn fell into disarray caused by Jerald's violent tendencies. Blood, Theft and Secrets Circa 1266, Jerald remained highly active in his underworld activities while searching for the people responsible and involved in his wife's death. Grazer was tasked by Jerald to carry out a series of assassinations of individuals whom Jerald suspecetd were responsible for - and involved in - his wife's murder. Most of these individuals were career killers and known thugs that resided in the city's underworld. The mission took several months to complete, and in doing so elevated Grazer as an infamous killer and a loyal patron to House Dunn. These acts of killing also allowed Grazer to claim a part in the city's underworld from the power vacuum left behind, and in doing so House Dunn was able to constitute a spy network within the streets of Alderwood. Appearance and Character Jerald is known for his cutthroat politics, mischievous plots, and, above all, his military leadership; many denizens of Alderwood have plotted against him by siding with his enemies and attempting to overthrow him, but Jerald's brutality and tenacity for killing kept him one step ahead of his adversaries. He has never had the affection of nobles or smallfolk alike. Jerald had a passion and fondness for performing arts and will attend balls, banquets and musical concerts. He had also proven to be a self-prodigy in painting and would often travel to visit other painters and share his work across the Western Kingdoms. He is teetotal and will only smoke on seldom occasion.